Six women from Penn Friends Community Church in Cassopolisgot up early Friday, Jan. 28, and drove to Buchanan to be part of a ladies-only audience for the nationally-acclaimed “Revive Our Hearts” radio show sponsored by Life Action Ministries.

Some of the ladies had to take time off their jobs, while others adjusted their busy schedules to participate in the all-day field trip.

They were: Julia Bell, Tanya Leach, Deb Wiggins, Sandy Swenar, Pam Wold and Brenda Beadenkopf.

Arriving around 8:30 a.m., the six were warmly greeted by friendly women on staff.

After they signed in, the ladies grabbed some coffee and excitedly took their seats with the audience in the small studio.

The recording session was to begin at 9 a.m., so they waited patiently for the famous radio hostess to take the stage.

Having all listened at one time or another and been inspired by radio personality Nancy Leigh DeMoss, each one felt this could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Nancy Leigh soon stepped onto the small stage, flashed a huge smile and said a cheerful, “Hello ladies!” while being hooked up to her microphone.

Dressed in black skirt, turtleneck and boots, her outfit was distinguished by a sky-blue dress jacket.

Her shoulder-length, gray hair was fixed stylishly, and expressive eyes exuded the warmth and confidence of a life dedicated to Jesus Christ.

Admitting imperfections, she explained how any mess-ups were fixed so the show would appear seamless.

Even a cough in the background is erased and the sentence re-recorded.

The audience was instructed to keep as quiet as possible, but to remember to breathe or laugh or react whenever appropriate.

Nancy Leigh gave various instructions and led numerous prayers.

All through the session she encouraged participants to stand up and stretch between each half-hour lesson.

Additionally, she asked volunteers to give a testimony or take-away that struck them during the teaching.

Nancy Leigh was serious, funny, confident and in-control of the eight taping sessions: five in the morning and three after the box lunch, which was provided.

Official taping ran until 3 p.m.

“Radio is like making sausage,” she declared, eyes twinkling.

“You don’t always like what goes into it, but it sure tastes good in the end. We’re going to make some sausage today!”

She also hoped Jesus would help give the ladies “fresh eyes, fresh mercies and fresh ways of thinking.”

The lessons were on “The Incomparable Christ,” based on the book by Oswald Sanders and focusing on the upcoming Easter season.

The first lesson will air March 31, and the last on Monday, April 11.

She talked of the awesome qualities of an Incomparable Christ, such as being a Master Teacher, and each of her lessons featured a separate quality or event in the Life and ministry of this Christ: the Humility of Christ, the Serenity of Christ, the Authority of Christ, the Prayer Life of Christ, the Trial of Christ, the Majestic Silence of Christ, Christ the Master Teacher and the Substitute-Sacrifice of Christ.

“The rabbis of the day taught minutiae, but Christ taught what mattered,” she declared.

“Jesus was motivated not by rules but by compassion for the people and concern for the eternal future of his listeners.”

She said he taught with absolute weight and authority, and his teachings are eternally relevant.

He lived what he taught: his Life-Message held such power. He urged us to be teaching and admonishing one another in our daily lives. “Christianity is not just a religion,” she stated quietly, “It is the truth.”

Explaining that Jesus turned everything upside down when he preached that humility is not a vice but a virtue, Nancy Leigh helped the women see that “Jesus’ humility is our salvation, and his salvation is our humility.” She explained that humility is a recognition that we owe everything to God. That pride is the root of every sin, and the restoration of humility, the opposite of pride, will heal our relationship with God. She talked of Jesus‚ unparalleled serenity, his perfect composure and declared that that kind of serenity is not possible without humility. In his prayer life, Jesus prayed fervently, wept, cried out loud to God and become very passionate because he took on the form of a man, and all men communicate through God through prayer.

But by the time he clearly knew the will of God, he went forward with utter courage, serenity and the confidence that His Father would be with him.

“When you trust in your Heavenly Father,” Nancy Leigh assured her listeners, “you can sing in the shadows of the Cross. Jesus was modeling serenity, even when life was squeezing him the hardest.”

The group stayed afterwards for part of the testimony/question time from 3:30-5 p.m., where one woman from the audience spoke of how her former life of sinful rebellion and alienation had been redeemed through the prayers of her mother and constant pursuit by God, the Hound of Heaven.

Her mother, who was in the audience, spoke of the pain, separation and loss, but then their miraculous healing and whole new life as believers together. The mother’s advice: If they tell you not to write, not to call or send any presents, do it anyway!

On the way home, the Penn women all took turns speaking of what impressed them the most about their day at Life Action. Some loved Nancy Leigh’s analogies, some her fresh re-telling of Bible stories, others the manner in which she made the scriptures clear, and still others testified of how God had worked in their lives.